Mandatory Drug Testing Arguments

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“An aggressive drug-testing program would cut down on certain abuses, but it’s never going to catch everyone, or even close to everyone” Malcolm Gladwell. The above quote demonstrates the ongoing debate concerning mandatory drug testing in schools. Issitt and Ballaro, two of the many people engaged in this debate, provide articles on the different sides of the argument. On one hand, Issitt strongly believes that drug tests are effective and that schools should enforce drug testing on all students. On the other hand, Ballaro agrees with the above quote that drug testing “is never going to catch everyone”. She strongly disagrees with mandatory drug testing as a measure to reduce drug abuse. Both Issit and Ballaro provide an abundance of reasons …show more content…

He provides a considerable amount of evidence to corroborate his stance. First of all, he states that drug abuse has become a critical problem among adolescents. He imparts the results of previous drug tests conducted on high school students and the measures taken to reduce the amount of drug abuse. In addition, Issitt mentions a few school districts that have utilized these drug tests to their benefit. Furthermore, he includes a supreme court case that ruled in favor of drug tests on students with extracurricular activities. Issitt provides a considerable amount of reasons that support his stance to allow mandatory drug tests. In contrast, Ballaro strongly disapproves of mandatory drug testing. She provides a substantial amount of research to prove that drug tests don’t show a positive effect on drug use. Moreover, she includes a few examples demonstrating the privacy violation drug tests cause. In addition, she asserts that it’s “a waste of valuable resources” to drug test every single student. Ballaro also provides examples of the mistakes that drug tests can make and the stage people go through because of those mistakes. Overall, both Issitt and Ballaro provide crucial evidence-based reasons supporting their

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